Prof. Profumo’s speech for the 90th Anniversary of Collegio Einaudi

On the occasion of the ceremony for the 90th anniversary of Collegio Einaudi, held on 24 October 2025 at the Museo del Risorgimento, alumnus Prof. Francesco Profumo delivered an intense and deeply personal address.

Below is the full text of his speech.

Dear friends,
It is a great emotion for me to be here today, in this hall that safeguards the memory of our country, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Collegio Einaudi. Speaking about the Collegio once again means reconnecting the threads of a personal and collective story that has profoundly shaped my life.

I was a resident from 1972 to 1977, during the years I studied at the Politecnico di Torino. They were intense years—of study, growth, but above all of human relationships. The Collegio was never just a place to sleep or prepare for exams: it was, and still is, a community. A training ground for life.

It was there that I learned the importance of living together, of exchanging views with people different in background, character, and ambition. It was a microcosm of society, a place that forced you to engage with differences, to listen, to negotiate, to build authentic relationships. And it is precisely from those relationships that I drew some of the most important values that have accompanied me throughout my life.

When I think back to the Collegio, I think above all of two words: merit and community. Merit, because the Collegio required commitment, seriousness, and consistency in study. There was no room for improvisation: every step had to be earned, with effort and dedication. But together with merit, there was community: no one was ever left alone, because collegial life was made of exchange, mutual support, and friendships that last to this day.

These are values that have profoundly shaped my professional life. After the Collegio and the Politecnico, I was fortunate to experience roles I would never have imagined: university professor, Rector of the Politecnico di Torino, President of the National Research Council (CNR), Minister of Education, University and Research, President of Compagnia di San Paolo, and now President of IsyBank. Every time I took on a new responsibility, I carried with me the lessons of merit and community learned within the Collegio’s walls.

For me, the Collegio was a school of freedom and responsibility. Freedom, because each of us could shape their own path, cultivate their dreams, find their way. Responsibility, because living together teaches you that freedom is never only individual, but must coexist with the freedom of others.

This is why I always say that my university education would not have been the same without the Collegio. The Politecnico gave me skills; the Collegio gave me values. Together, they formed the foundation of everything that came after.

Today, many years later, looking at the new generations of residents, I feel the need to leave a message. We live in difficult times: Italy and Europe are facing major challenges—from the demographic crisis to technological change, from ecological transition to new social vulnerabilities. In this context, young people often feel alone, disoriented, tempted to seek opportunities elsewhere.

The Collegio can and must be an answer to this sense of isolation. Because here, no one grows alone: we grow together. The Collegio is a community that trusts young people, that helps them discover their talents, cultivate their passions, and feel part of something greater.

The future is built with skills, of course, but also with values. And the Collegio is one of the few places that still manages to combine these two dimensions. It is a laboratory of merit, but also a laboratory of citizenship.

Allow me to conclude with a very personal thought. When I think of the young man I was when I entered Collegio Einaudi in 1972, with a suitcase full of dreams and a head full of questions, I know that without that experience my life would have been different. Every achievement, every responsibility, every challenge I have faced carries within it a piece of those five years of collegial life.

So, to the young people who live this experience today, I say: do not be afraid to dream big, but remember that dreams need roots. And the roots are here: in study, in community, in merit, in responsibility.

Thank you, Collegio Einaudi, for teaching me all of this.
And thank you all, today, for giving me the opportunity to share this emotion.

Happy birthday, Collegio — and may the next hundred years be just as meaningful.